Sandy, a middle-aged woman, recently posted this status update: “In 13 days, Ty turns 13: I will officially be a parent of a teenager!” Describe two broad trends in brain development during adolescence, and suggest how these changes may be reflected in Ty’s behavior.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: While the popular notion of adolescence as a time of “storm and stress” may be exaggerated, few can deny that adolescence is marked by increased emotionality, sociality, and impulsivity. These characteristics reflect two broad trends in brain development during adolescence: (1) Subcortical structures, such as the limbic system, mature more quickly than does the cortex, and (2) brain networks become increasingly differentiated and specialized. Emotionality and impulsivity largely reflect the first trend. In the limbic system, the amygdala is closely associated with emotional processing; in the cortex, the prefrontal cortex is associated with planning and restraint. That the amygdala matures years before the prefrontal cortex does means that adolescence is marked by increased responsivity to emotional cues and to signals for reward and punishment; the lagging development of the prefrontal cortex means that adolescents are prone to act on these cues. Ty might take risks or seek thrills—from more positive ones, such as those involved in such pursuits as demanding athletics, bungee jumping, riding roller coasters, and so on, to less positive ones, such as street racing or experimentation with drugs of abuse. The sociality of adolescents and the importance of peers reflects the differentiation of the brain’s networks and the emergence of the social brain. Ty might spend little time at home, preferring involvement with a large circle of friends.
Learning Objective: 5.1 Summarize the major brain and developmental changes in childhood and adolescence.